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Monthly Archives: September 2016

I don’t know about all of you, but I am OBSESSED with Fall. I mean what is there not to love!? Hoodies, bonfires, pumpkin EVERYTHING, and football! So as soon as there is a first cool day my fall decorating begins. I know we are all on a budget, so below you will find cheap way to decorate inside and outside. I did all this decorating for under $20.00!

Indoors-

Centerpiece: This gem was all from dollar store, and then a bit of spray paint. I already had candle holder, but I know you could find them fairly cheap. Then the leaves and pumpkins were all from my local dollar tree. Then I just spray painted the pumpkins and the rim on the candle holder. Once all dried I layered the leaves and pumpkins until the candle holder was full. (Tip: Start the layering with the leaves)

Outdoors-

Mums: You can find a Mum at your local home improvement store. Right now at Lowe’s there are 2 for $8.00.

Fake Pumpkin: I got this pumpkin at a local craft store called Michaels. Michaels always has very good coupons, so I picked up this pumpkin for $10.00

Have you ever had a moment in your life where your world stopped turning? If you have you would know it. I had never experienced it until August 28th of this year. I would not wish that feeling upon anyone. I received a phone call from family on August 28th to let me know my grandpa had gone under water and never came back up. I thought if I were to ever hear that news that I would panic, scream, and cry. Though I did not do any of those things. My world stopped! Everything was in slow motion and I was completely calm. I never shed a tear or screamed because the world had just stopped, and I became numb. It seemed like nothing was going on around me. All of my family rushed to the scene of the accident hoping were we in a nightmare, but we soon realized we weren’t and this really did happen. We were all stricken will grief that my grandpa just passed away at 59 years young in the most horrific way a… freak accident.

This rocked my world. My grandpa and I were very close. He was more than a grandpa he was like my other father. I needed his approval for all my decisions in life. He was my rock and my safety. As the world began to spin again I started wondering how I would ever move on in a world without him. Then I soon began to realize of these past 21 years of my life he was teaching me. He was teaching me what was important to know and do in this crazy world. These are the things he taught me:

Family first: He taught me family is the most important thing. They will always have your back and love you unconditionally. Never turn your back on your family. He married my grandma at 22 years old. My grandma had already been married and had two children, but that did not frighten him. He took on that task and never looked back. He loved my grandma with every fiber in his body, and that was evident until his last breath. He thought she was the most beautiful and intelligent women in this world. He worked to make every single one of her dreams come true. I know I want to marry someone who thinks of me the same way. So together they raised the two children (my mom and aunt) together. Then later we four grandchildren came into the picture. They loved every single one of us so much. Family was the key to life and happiness. We did so much together as a family no matter how big or small it was. I am so thankful he taught me the importance of family.

Treat EVERYONE with respect: My grandpa was big on respect. You did not have to like or agree with everyone, but you did have to respect them. You need to be kind to everyone. Being respectful makes you a better person. I am thankful I have been taught to be kind to all because I know how much it stings when someone is not nice to me.

Educate yourself: Education is and probably always will be a big part of our family. Education does not just mean formal school. You can learn anywhere. My grandpa wanted me to learn everything. He taught me that if I want to know something I can look it up on computer or read a book to learn. I don’t have to rely on others. I can teach myself how to do something. Learning and education will never stop. There are so many facts he taught me some I wanted to know and some I didn’t, but those memories and little chunks of knowledge have stuck with me.

Be Brave: I have been a little scared to try new things or to fail, but he taught me not to. He said I can do anything I set my stubborn mind to. I am capable to do anything and my limits are impossible. I now truly believe this because he believed in me so much.

I don’t know about you, but I struggle with my hair. It is so thick and has a natural curl, so keeping and getting it clean has always been a struggle. When I was little I had pretty bad dandruff. A HUGE thanks to God having me grow out of that one. I didn’t want to be like the girl from ‘The Breakfast Club.’ Well as I got older I had a whole different problem. My hair is massively thick, so it seems to be so hard to get it clean. I have found certain shampoos and products just cling to my locks, and it is impossible to make it look clean and cute. After months of my hair being a weird texture and just never looking healthy I decided to experiment with different methods so I could get my hair looking clean, styled, and cute. So without further ado here is what I found works for me! (PS: This is not sponsored by Aveda. Just the natural products from Aveda work wonders for me!)

Showering- Don’t get me wrong this girl loves a good relaxing bath, but when I wash my hair I MUST do it showering. If not, I can’t get it as clean and it starts to get product build up. Then it is heavy and weighed down. Not cute. Trust me!

Aveda Shampure Shampoo and Conditioner– This set is pure magic. I would always get compliments on the color of my hair, but never really on how it looked. I started using these 2 babies and it seemed like everyone was complimenting on it and asking me what I did differently. These are winners for sure.

Aveda Smooth Infusion Nourishing Cream– I put this in my hair as soon as I get out of the shower and towel dry it. It has nutrients in it for my hair, which I really think have helped my hair looking shiny and healthy. I also think this is why my hair has been growing faster than it usually does. Also another bonus is that the nourishing cream reduces frizz, and with my thick hair I need all the help I can with that.

Aveda Shampure Dry Shampoo– I wanted something to help my hair look effortless and almost windblown when I would curl my hair with a flat iron or curling iron. I don’t like the look of hard curls on myself. This stuff does the trick. I put a few pumps of the powder in my hair and toss it around and it gives it such an effortless look.

Aveda Air Control Hairspray– I hate hairspray that makes my hair feeling crunchy after I spray it in, but it always seemed like if it didn’t then my hairstyle wouldn’t hold. I looked far and wide for one that would hold my style, but also keep my hair feeling soft. Of course it ended up been Aveda, but I truly love this hairspray it keeps my hair styled without making my hair crunchy!

Remington New Diamond Shine Ceramic Flat Iron -1″– I love this flat iron like I love coffee. It is cheap and gets my thick curly hair SUPER straight! It also is great when it comes to curling my hair with it. I have had expensive flat irons many times before, but they never worked as well as this one. If the one I have now ever breaks, which we all know it will, I will definitely be buying the same one again! PS: Thank you to my sister for introducing me to it!